UK and China sign the Clean Energy Partnership

The UK and China have signed an agreement to work together to transition to the low carbon economy.

The Clean Energy Partnership establishes co-operation in research and industry while transitioning to a low carbon global economy. This will strengthen the UK’s position as the partner of choice for China in low carbon energy and will help to pave the way for effective energy relations between the two countries.

Both the UK and China are determined to find the right solutions to deliver clean, secure, and affordable energy for all. The agreement will support our efforts to tackle climate change and provide energy security for decades to come, helping to reduce energy bills for hardworking businesses and families as well as growing the low carbon economy.

The UK companies in the low carbon sector will gain more opportunities to access the largest energy market in the world; enabling them to share expertise in technology and innovation to secure new business. It is expected to encourage more investment in clean technologies, which in turn could help to reduce their costs in both countries.

Earlier this week, a number of other collaboration agreements were announced at the UK-China Fourth Annual Energy Dialogue. These include the first ever Chinese investment in the UK offshore wind market with China Three Gorges (CTG) agreeing to invest in Moray Offshore Renewables Ltd.; as well as the UK China joint civil nuclear research and development centre to be opened in the UK; industry and academic collaboration for marine energy research; and partnering of our two countries’ offshore wind industry groups to establish joint Offshore Wind Industry Advisory Groups.

Also, complementing our work on clean energy, the China National Expert Committee on Climate Change and the UK’s Committee on Climate Change have agreed to establish a new process of joint work on climate change risk assessment, recognising the importance of risk assessment for informing climate change policy.